hello and welcome to an "america toni" special report. i'm joie chen. tough times in afghanistan as a country takes its first steps to a new future. our special focus on the taliban and afghanistan today continues now.after the fault lines documentary, this is taliban country. that country today is a powder keg. after decades of fighting,

outside forces and inter-tribal faceoffs, looking to the future about questions about what's next. as u.s. forces prepare to leave there is reason for hope. last week's presidential election defied prediction. 350,000 strong security presence was far less than feared. it was according to outside monitors a big win for democracy. and a setback to the taliban which had vowed to disrupt the vote. >> i mean if it's up to them, no elections at all. but we want the elections, we want somebody who will deal with the taliban, evolve that issue and then resolve that issue and then come out and vote. >> beyond the relatively smooth election, the limits on the taliban's power, as evidenced by fault lines documentary, this is taliban country, in which the

group struggled against the better armed and better organized rch afghan national ay army about. >> they don't fear any attacks from them and they move all around the city without fearing them. >> his report concluded with this: >> when u.s. withdraws mos mostf its troops are from afghanistan, the taivel wil taliban will sti. the question is what will happen after the draw down? the answer is i've already seen it. it's basically already happened. a fight for power, on the battle field with bullets and in the towns for local support. and as always, civilians will be caught up in the middle.

>> that, this is taliban country, a product of al jazeera's fault lines. najib, can you tell us where this takes us, where this finds us, we know going into the election that there was a lot of disruption caused by the taliban but going forward what are we expecting the taliban's role to be? >> it depends on which part of the taliban we're talking about. whether we are talking about the part of taliban that wants the negotiations to proceed, and -- or the one that is uncompromising in the opinion about the future of afghanistan. and you know it's a kind of a mixed signal. that i got from char, in some ways, they were trying to talk

about reconciliation, and trying to give the impression that they've actually changed. and in other ways they were also very harsh in talking about they wanted to keep on fighting. so at the same time, it was a little bit of pr but it was also a little bit of scare tactics. >> in watching the documentary myself i was struck by the notion that the taliban whatever its external image is, it is really trying at the local level of reconstituting itself in a leadership role, a leader in justice, whatever that is defined as, a leader in helping the community make its decisions, did you see that and did you see a reflection that the community is accepting at least that part of what the taliban is today? >> yes, in chart for example people were used to the taliban. it looked like my impression was the government they hadn't been present there for a lot of time. and at least a part of the

population there, they were not happy about the government. and of course, if there was a part whose negative about the can, they -- taliban, they were afraid to say s so because i was embedded with them. they really tried to show themselves as an authority and not only an authority but a responsible authority actually. i saw them actually trying to build schools. of course it was still government money that was channeled into the area and there was actually a representative of the afghan government in the area sending the money to the area. so there was also kind of an unofficial agreement between the government and the taliban in the area. >> who's in charge here? >> yes. >> we want to continue this discussion. joining us now is douglas olivant, and barnett reuben, a

leading expert on the taliban. barnett, we have seen some change through the election. but what does this portend for the future over these next few months? how much do you see the taliban expect to sort of entrench itself? >> the taliban themselves are not really a military threat to the government as you can see from the film because they fail to take that single post, a force like that is not going to be able to overrun the capitol. but the government itself is still quite weak as you also saw in the film. and if political divisions emerge that prevent the choosing of a new president and new stable government that's something the taliban could take advantage of. >> doug you have seen the military arrangements in afghanistan and you have seen the afghan national army trying to stand itself up as a

legitimate and friendly force, trying to entrench itself causing the disruption it did in advance of the elections what do you anticipate going forward in afghanistan? >> i think going forward we should expect more of the status quo. as your other guest pointed out it's not like the taliban is going to be able to overthrow these major base he but it's not like the troops from the marriage bases is going to go out and overrun the taliban either. projecting power two or three miles outside their gates and no further, kind of an analog of what you'll have in kabul, where the mayor of kabul cannot project power any further than a few miles past his gates. >> we're talking about two afghanistans, the urban afghanistan and the outlying areas. >> any time we try to divide up

afghanistan this or that, we go wrong. it's not taliban black, the government white. everyone is shades of gray. it's not like the rural-urban divide totally explains that but there's a lot to that as well. >> reuben on that point the two afghanistans notion, is this anything other than a new round of tribal warfare of war lords in charge of their own areas? >> i think that we tend to focus too much on the military aspects. the military is only one can aspect of this -- one aspect of this. as you saw in the film the taliban's main grievance as they targeted is the presence of the foreign forces in the country and the lack of governance by the authorities in kabul, their inability to reach out and the key question: how willpower be exercised in afghanistan and how

will it be distributed amongst the groups that make up this quite divided country. >> we will continue our conversation with najib, doug and barnett. as we return, stepping in, embedded with the afghan army special forces next. are they ready to take on the tough job of securing their own country? >> i mean, i don't know who's illegal, who's not illegal... al jazeera america presents a breakthrough television event. borderland a first hand look at the crisis on the border... >> i'm already afraid just being here >> six strangers, with different points of view take a closer look at the ongoing conflict. gary, a farmer, who hires many migrent workers... >> people say immigrants are stealing our jobs, it's not true... >> and allison, a born again christian, republican... >> let's just send them back to mexico and let their goverment handle it.

>> they re-live the fatal quest of a young boy named omar... >> do you think that omar was way too young to make that trip accross the dessert? >> you just can't keep being strong... >> where will this path lead them? >> just because they make it to the u.s., doesn't mean good things are gonna happen to them. >> experience illegal immigration... up close, and personal. >> the only way to find out, is to see it yourselves. on... borderland only on al jazeera america

>> al jazeera is the first media organization to gain access to afghanistan's most elite security arm the crisis response unit, afghan special forces. these are the forces that afghanistan must depend upon as afghanistan prepares to go it

alone. >> major hoshel sadat carries with him enormous responsibility every day. he is the commander of the special forces known as the crisis response units. >> i don't see myself being a guy who goes to work at 8:00 and comes back at 4:00. i'm sort of motivated by this team of people that they just want to fight not only for the country but also for each other. >> reporter: al jazeera got exclusive access with the special forces and were invited to witness that fight. [ shooting ] >> the knowledge special forces stormed this house in parwan province. within seconds they arrest a man, looking for a bomb maker. just tell me what's going on he pleads. they find a bag of fertilizer

used here for both farming and making explosives. the house is full of women and children. there are few men around so they go to a mosque nearby. several men are found sleeping there. the afghans move cautiously, making him lift his shirt to check for a suicide vest. his phone has the sim card removed. a tactic often used by the taliban to avoid being tracked. this raid is in an urban area so the soldiers drove to the house in darkness. often however, they have to take a helicopter into dangerous taliban territory and walk for kilometers to avoid detection. all the lights seen here are infrared and not visible to the naked eye. there with the lights on is the darkened house for these soldiers. they have hiked through night and they believe that a senior taliban commander is inside

there. the taliban commander probably is nowhere and his house is surrounded by afghan special forces. men are interrogated, the house searched and intelligence gathered. major sadat is happy with the results. >> basically we have detained everybody around the target we are looking for. we have a pretty good idea who we're looking for. >> you'll stay here nlg you know? -- until you know? >> pretty much. >> heading back to kabul with the suspect their work is done for night. the suspected taliban members will be handed offer to afghanistan'afghanistan's judge. their fate is now in the hands of the state. but that is a huge challenge for these men. many of the taliban members they capture on raids are later released. allegations of taliban fighters bribing their way out of jail are common. at other times a political favor sets them free.

>> it's frustrating. you arrest a guy two months ago in a compound in a target area where you put a lot of effort to arrest him with a lot of convicting evidence on him and two months later you see him again in another compound then it's frustrating. what are you doing here? >> he is determined to keep fighting, regardless of the risks he faces in the field and the challenges his men face as they fight this war increasingly by themselves. they are the country's most elite fighters and they know if they can't do the job, no one can. >> al jazeera's jane ferguson reporting for us from afghanistan. we are can back with the group. i want to tap into your military expertise and look into these forces that we just saw in jane's report.

they do seem engaged in their level of commitment but yet you're concerned with them. >> i'm concerned because there aren't enough of them. our special forces are very good at training their counterparts. we've did it well in iraq and afghanistan. but a few special forces who are operating on probably dubious forces, we have no idea if these folks they arrested were really taliban. without that type of high level intelligence and a larger army that's capable of keeping things more or less peaceful in the absence of these special forces we have to be dubious with the outcome. >> we have put a lot of emphasis of the strength or lack thereof of the afghan army or the taliban. maybe there's another approach to take maybe another way to look at the future of achgz, is it more -- astles, i afghanistat

more dependent on the political equation? >> you cannot cel your way out of industrial strength insurgency. who wins in an insurgency is who can outgovern not who can outfight. the afghan government is absolutely dependent on the support of the united states. the taliban are very dependent on the sanctuary and support they depend upon from pakistan. both of these forces are operating as a result of international forces and not their own resources. there is no way the afghanistan can defeat the taliban, afghan government can defeat the taliban. there is no way the taliban can gain control of afghanistan, they won't receive foreign aid

as they have in the past. therefore the only way to stabilize the area and keep terrorists out, is through a political settlement, outwe have devoted -- yet we have devoted very little effort to that or do the things we need do for that settlement, such as releasing afghan taliban detainees from guantanamo. this report is kind of reflecting the dominant view you get out of officials, the military side of what is essentially a political industrial, which will be saved militarily and not politically. >> as you look at a country you are deeply attached to yourself and its future, i wonder when we leave these elements unresolved, how can there be much hope that things can go forward in a constructive way? >> i think it depends a lot on

the international community and judge especially the united states of america. -- and especially the united states of america. because the u.s. has the power to seek other solutions, than the military solution that the u.s. have been doing for so many years. and i agree totally with barnett reuben because i've been on the ground. i've talked with a lot of taliban. not only in chark but other places. this food chain for the taliban there are a lot of people who are fighting for other reasons than ideologic reasons, who would be happy to go back to their lives again if the political climate would be something which is better than it is right now for them. so i think there is a chance, the question is whether you know the people in power, they are going to go after this. >> and whether the world can

support them in doing that. all right, we appreciate all of you being with us. thanks very much. after the break, building their case: the unlikely voice helping the women of afghanistan find theirs.

>> finally from us this hour, afghanistan's fledgling justice system is a work in progress. its dogged by a system that doesn't have enough justices. particularly the rights of afghan women, jennifer glasse has her story from kabul. >> when defense toirn ki attornd in 2008, she didn't expect to be staining long. >> they were training and mentoring me a lot more.

>> motley is outspoken and uncovered and defending afghanistan's most uncovered. hoping for justice. motley stops at this woman's jail every chance she gets to check in on the inmates and see if anyone needs a lawyer. >> does your iranian embassy do they know you are here? okay, how long have you all been here? >> four months. >> four months. >> irene from uganda has been here for more than four years, convicted of drug trafficking. she should be free by now, because the president has reduced sentences like hers. motley is trying to help. >> with this decree they forgive, president karzai, forgives sentences for many

crimes. >> most in here are illiterate. without motley most of them wouldn't know what to do. human rights watch estimates that credit most of the women and girls are here for moral crimes, called zenah here, that's what motley wants to change. >> are you here for running away or running away and adultery? >> prohibits punishing women who are raped or involved in violence. abuse against women remains common. despite the prohibition, motley says rape victims are victimized in afghanistan. golaz became pregnant as a result of rape and when she reported it to the police they arrested her. she had her baby in prison.

motley got her out. she married her rapist and motley says she appears to be happy teenager sahar was sold into marriage when she was about 13. her new in-laws tortured and burnt her, pulled out her finger nails because she refused to be a pursuit. motley appealed to the supreme court and won. motley went to see her client in the shelter that's now her home. >> i wanted to bring you the decision in court. they basically said mom, mother-in-law and father-in-law should be arrested for five years. >> prosecuting rape and abuse cases is difficult, no one wants to admit it's going on. >> she needs to know that she's the only female in afghanistan ever that has ever appealed a

case and has told the court that she wants people to be punished, independently, and that's important. >> after arriving five years ago, motley soon realized she could have an impact leer. it hasn't been easy. motley spends much of her time here, attorney general's office. afghanistan's justice system isn't computerized yet. motley describes finding case files like playing where's waldo. the attorney general's office didn't want the process filmed. >> you guys have written a letter that he should be released and it's going through the process, we're trying to figure out where that letter is following the number. exactly. i mean like each office you get a little piece of paper.

>> the other office is across town. >> you get a slip, they renumber it, renumber it. >> afghan lawyers say corruption is also a persistent problem in the justice system, that some judges demand payoff. the only way to work in that is to work ethically. >> every victory i have had has been an ethical leel victory. >> -- legal victory. >> her days involve running around. her car is her office. as she spends her days chasing down case files, shuttling between clients cases and court. >> what happened there? >> i gave them the supreme court decision, because they did not have that. and then i also gave them -- we wrote a draft indictment for them to make their work a little bit easier. >> sounds like you're doing a lot of their work for them.

>> yes, if i don't do it, it doesn't get done in the way it should be done. >> motley has had a number of prominent successes. her most recent, securing the freedom of a south african who was still in jail because he couldn't are afford the $20,000 fine. she got him a presidential pardon. >> i'm still learning, a place where unwritten procedure will trump written law. that's something interesting to learn but as a lawyer it's extremely frustrating. >> motley says she will keep working in afghanistan but also wants to practice in other countries to apply what she has learned here. >> i think it's very easy to look at afghanistan, afghan legal system and be very pessimistic. i think the mere fact that myself as a nonafghan, american woman being able to even work in the legal system is a step forward.

>> and that's al jazeera's jennifer glasse reporting from afghanistan. that's it for "america tonight." good night. >> the u.s. and nato apparently disagree on how to act with russia, how is that to putin? after two awful days on wall street, financial experts say we're headed for a crash. and was jesus married? i'm antonio mora. here's the headlines. >> the